Saturday, December 25, 2010

Thursday, December 23, 2010

The trip to London was far from bad, on the whole.
And I still consider we were very lucky to come home so quickly.

I met Amandine at the airport, and Emilie met us at Saint Pancras, since she took the Eurostar to come from Paris. Aren't they lovely?

It was already cold, and snowy. But in fact, I loved that, I miss the bad weather of the North of France, as weird as it can sound :-)

Our main problem on that day was to find a place for lunch. We saw several nice pubs, but they were all holding corporate XMas parties! But at the end, we found one table.

Look what I found in Carnaby Street! You can't see them, but they have heels.
Frankly, I could not resist those either (but I did not buy the matching bag due to Ryanair luggage restrictions... sigh...)

I think it is Picadilly Circus, not sure though...

We made the most of our first day. Our hotel was at Saint Pancras, just across the road, in Argyle Square. Very nice and cosy, and warm. Amandine and I felt asleep before our head touched the pillow :-) Emilie lasted a bit longer.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

You may decide that this is the perfect day to spend hibernating -- all cuddled up with a good friend or a sweetheart. Well, why not? Rent some videos, cook some comfort food and make the world go away. You've certainly earned it.

That is what we did on Saturday. Kind of...
This is Amandine, my daughter coming home from a 13-months trip in Australia and Asia. I went to London to welcome her, and bring her a coat and shoes.

This is me. Cuddled...

Yes, this is the floor, the floor of Stansted airport from where we were supposed to fly home that evening.
The good part is that it was nicely warm in the airport, with no video, but live show all the night through.

We were lucky, with the help of Amandine's father, we managed to climb into a Eurostar to Paris. I was rather eager to see the tunnel but I did not. I don't know why. Amandine thinks this is the reason why...

To make a long story short, it took us two days instead of two hours to reach home. And I think we did it in good conditions. And quickly...

Thursday, December 16, 2010

This is the time of year when the company gathers to share all their achievements.

This always starts by honoring the long-time employees. I was one of those. Here is my diploma by the French Ministry of Work, with my medal, and the flowers I received. Add two kisses on the cheeks by the big boss, and some nice vouchers to spend on Hight-tech or videos.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Its been a long time since I found the time to blog in the middle of the week, isn't it?
The amaryllis deserve this post: Look at them.
I know the leaves usually come after the stems, but it is the first time the stems and flowers are so developped, without any leaf at all. Besides, the one on the right has 3 stems. But I won't complain about that!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

As usual, you made my week great by visiting and leaving a comment. Thank you all!

Again, the week went by very quickly.
We are under a wave of cold, almost all France is under snow, and we have rain and low temperature. The perfect weather to stay in my sewing room.

I recently revamped this sewing room. Not only is it looking nicer and bigger, but I'm also more stash-conscious.

With Xmas in a few weeks, I'm facing a recurrent problem: I'm not good at wrapping gifts, sigh...
As I said above, I've had a good look at my stash, and at those lovely bits just waiting the opportunity to step into the light. There are even orphan blocks waiting for their day. So I decided to try another method: bags.
I made them very simple, raw edges, quick seams, and here they are:

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Hello to all!
It has been a 3-days weekend, since I had some overtime to convert into free time. I was lucky on Friday, the weather was gorgeous and I went for a walk in the hill:

A bright blue sky over a still green hill, with almond, fig and olive trees

Eh wait, those are supposed to bloom in spring!

Red Valerian found in the hill

and spent the rest of the day gardening.
Yesterday was completely different, heavy with rain, and today was a mix of the two. This did not upset me since I wanted to play with needles. Indeed, when I saw Etta's Santa in Quiltmania by Sandy Gervais, I just wanted to make my own. And here it is:

Naive Santa appliqued on a dark background, with destructured house

I saw another Santa by Sandy Gervais in the winter issue of Quiltmania, I'm just as eager to make it...sigh...

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Regarding the photo book, if you are tempted to make one, don't hesitate. I'm sure you can find one company near your place, and they are really fun to do. I have my pictures showing on my PC as a screen saver, so I can enjoy them without printing them. But I also like the book, it has a "heirloom" feel...

Regarding the scarves, Emilie was glad to receive her, but even glader that the weather here did not allow her to try it yet :-) But, I'm sure she'll enjoy it once she is back in Paris tonight... For those interested, they are easy to make. You knit a long scarf (about 6 feet), fold it in two, and make a seam from the fold, for about 1 foot. It is that easy.

You may remember I won a charm pack from Confessions of a Fabric Addict? It arrived safely at the end of the week. Aren't those fabrics gorgeous? Now I need to find a project, not necessarily for this XMas, though...

It was a long weekend in France, so I had the pleasure to have Emilie with me, and as usual, we went for a shopping day to Marseille. Then she went to see some friends of her. And I went on with my Xmas sewing:

This is a gardening set.
I still have a few stitches to make, but the sky is getting dark, and it was my last chance to get a decent picture!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

For once, this post is meant to my French friends...
I've had the opportunity to test a photo book, and here is a report about this test.
I was not paid to make this test, I was only given a voucher to pay for the cost of the book and the postage.

About me

I'm 50+. I have discovered textile art when my daughters left home to study. I like to play with fabrics, yarns and needles. My other hobbies are books (completely addicted), gardening. I'm also the human of two cats.Contact me.